Kanarime

Once upon a time there was a young prince, who believed in all things but three. He did not believe in princesses, he did not believe in islands, he did not believe in God. His father, the King, told him that such things did not exist. As there were no princesses or islands in his father's domaines, and no sign of God, the young prince believed his father.

But then, one day, the prince ran away from his palace. He came to the next land. There, to his astonishment, from every coast he saw islands, and on these islands, strange and troubling creatures whom he dared not name. As he was searching for a boat, a man in full evening dress approached him along the shore.

"Are those real islands?" asked the young prince.

"Of course they are real islands," said the man in evening dress.

"And those strange and troubling creatures?"

"They are all genuine and authentic princesses."

"Then God must also exist!" cried the prince.

"I am God," replied the man in full evening dress, with a bow.

The young prince returned home as quickly as he could.

"So you are back," said his father, the King.

"I have seen islands, I have seen princesses, I have seen God," said the prince reproachfully.

The king was unmoved.

"Neither real islands, nor real princesses, nor a real God, exist."

"I saw them!"

"Tell me how God was dressed."

"God was in full evening dress."

"Were the sleeves of his coat rolled back?"

The prince remembered that they had been. The king smiled.

"That is the uniform of a magician. You have been deceived."

At this, the prince returned to the next land, and went to the same shore, where he once again came upon the man in full evening dress.

"My father the king has told me who you are," said the young prince indignantly. "You deceived me last time, but not again. Now I know that those are not real islands and real princesses, because you are a magician."

The man on the shore smiled.

"It is you who are deceived, my boy. In your father's kingdom there are many islands and many princesses. But you are under your father's spell, so you cannot see them."

The prince returned pensively home. When he saw his father, he looked him in the eyes.

"Father, is it true that you are not a real king, but only a magician?" The king smiled, and rolled back his sleeves.

"Yes, my son, I am only a magician."

"Then the man on the shore was God."

"The man on the shore was another magician."

"I must know the real truth, the truth beyond magic."

"There is no truth beyond magic," said the king.

The prince was full of sadness.

He said, "I will kill myself."

The king by magic caused death to appear. Death stood in the door and beckoned to the prince. The prince shuddered. He remembered the beautiful but unreal islands and the unreal but beautiful princesses.

"Very well," he said. "I can bear it."

"You see, my son," said the king, "you too now begin to become a magician."

-- From "The Magus" by John Fowles

I'm Still Alive... I think.

Over prescribed
under the mister
we had survived to
turn on the history channel
and ask our esteemed panel
why are we alive
and here's how they replied
you're what happens when two substances collide
and by all accounts you really should've died
stretched out on the tarmac
six miles south of North Platte
he can't stand to look back
at sixteen tons of HAZMAT
and it's what goes
undelivered undelivered
and it's a nervous tic motion of the head to the left
it's a nervous tic motion of the head to the left
exorcise your cells till you're bereft
'cause it's a nervous tic motion of the head to the left
splayed out on a bathmat
six miles north of South Platte
and he just wants his life back
what's in that paper knapsack
it's what goes undelivered
over imbibed
under the mister
barely alive we
cover the blisters in flannel
though the words we speak
are banal
not one of them's a lie
not one of them's a lie
you're what happens when two substances collide
and by all accounts you really should've
died

...A PaciFic During tike...

If you read this, if your eyes are passing over this right now, (even if we don't speak often) please post a comment with a COMPLETELY MADE UP AND FICTIONAL memory of you and me.

It can be anything you want - good or bad - BUT IT HAS TO BE FAKE.

When you're finished, post this little paragraph on your LJ and be surprised (or mortified) about what people DON'T ACTUALLY remember about you.

Robert Anton Wilson is on his death-bed.

Here is the Blog Entry
Here's Robert Anton Wilson's Homepage

"Faith-based organizations say we don't need any more research, we know enough now, we can be dogmatic, whereas researchers say we don't know enough now, investigate, research," argues Wilson. "Faith is a reason to become stupid: 'From this point forward, I will remain stupid.' To me, faith-based organizations are responsible for everything I see wrong with this planet. Research-based organizations are responsible for everything I like about it. Before the French Revolution, the average life expectancy was 37 years. Now it's 78 years. All due to research-based organizations. Not at all due to faith-based organizations. All faith-based organizations give you is George Bush. Research-based organizations give you cures for disease."

You've had a hell of a run Bob. I can't think of anyone else who has so diligently pursued the Great-Work as you. When you get to where you're going, be sure to tell Tim that I said Hi.

Comment here and...

1. I'll respond with something random about you.
2. I'll challenge you to try something.
3. I'll pick a color that I associate with you.
4. I'll tell you something I like about you.
5. I'll tell you my first/clearest memory of you.
6. I'll tell you what animal you remind me of.
7. If I do this, you must post this in your journal.

This seems like something Nathan would have done...

...back when he was a six year old girl.

I have come to the conclusion that the speed of "dark" is far faster than the speed of "light", seeing as how dark is quick enough to move out of light's way.

You can accept the existence of rain, without denying the existence of umbrellas.

Accent: Midwestern.
Booze: Crown and Coke / Caucasian / Silk Dragon.
Chore I hate: Paying my bills.
Dog or cat: Cat.
Essential electronics: Computer / I-Paq.
Favourite cologne(s): Myhrr, Abramelin.
Gold or silver: Electrum.
Hometown: Saint James.
Insomnia: When stressed.
Job title: Information Systems Analyst
Kids: I don't keep animals I don't plan on eating.
Living arrangements: Just me and the voices in my head in a two bedroom apartment.
Most admirable trait: Voraciously Curious / Constantly learning.
Number of sexual partners: Never kiss and tell.
Overnight hospital stays: Three or four. I've also worked overnight at a hospital.
Phobias: Drinking a glass full of brine shrimp (sea monkeys).

Quote: "We're not trying to bring people to God; that's a contradiction in terms, you can't even say it in Martian. We're not trying to save souls, because souls can't be lost. We're not trying to get people to have faith, because what we offer is not faith but truth —truth they can check; we don't urge them to believe it. Truth for practical purposes, for here-and-now, truth as matter of fact as an ironing board and as useful as a loaf of bread… so practical that it can make war and hunger and violence and hate as unnecessary as…. as —well, as clothes here in the Nest. But they have to learn Martian first. That's the only hitch —finding people who are honest enough to believe what they see, and then are willing to do the hard work —it is hard work —of learning the language it can be taught in. A composer couldn't possibly write down a symphony in English… and this sort of symphony can't be stated in English any more than Beethoven's Fifth can be." --Stranger in a Strange Land.

Religion: No thank you, I'm trying to quit.
Siblings: One sister and a cat.
Time I wake up: 7:15.
Unusual talent or skill: Juggling / Teaching Martial Arts / Philosophical Discorse.
Vegetable I refuse to eat: Peas.
Worst habit: Instigating debates.
X-rays: Vision. I've seen london...
Yummy foods I make: Tortillini au Russi

Zodiac sign: Sun, Mercury, Venus, and Mars in Taurus. Moon in Gemini. Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto in Libra. Uranus in Scorpio. Neptune in Sagittarius. Rising Sign Aquarius.

A lot of people I know (both in Springfield and Rolla) have been having a lot of trouble in dealing with conflict resolution as of late. This article was recently brought to my attention, and I decided to save it here for prosperity. I hope this finds well the people who it may benefit.

( Six Steps for Resolving Conflicts )

What's done is done. Even if nothing is learned from it, its time to move on, if only for the sake of everyone else involved.

The problem with hubris is that even if everyone wins, nobody may end up happy about it.

--Me

P.S. If this doesn't apply to any particular parties listening, then just assume it's for someone else.

"Jealousy is a disease, love is a healthy condition. The immature mind often confuses one for the other, or assumes the greater the love, the greater the jealousy. In fact they are almost incompatible; both at once produce unbearable turmoil." *PERIOD*
--Stranger in a Strange Land (First edition, 1961); this line is not in the "Uncut" edition of 1991 based on his original manuscripts, because this was one of the lines that he actually added, rather than trimmed down, during the editing process of the first edition. (The word "*PERIOD*" added for emphasis.)

Now I see why Tim Zell prefers the older edition.


A competent and self-confident person is incapable of jealousy in anything. Jealousy is invariably a symptom of neurotic insecurity.
--Time Enough for Love (1973)

This may very well be the best way to measure a person's quality... EVER!


"That old saw about "to understand all is to forgive all" is a lot of tripe. Some things, the more you understand them, the more you loathe them."
--Starship Troopers (1959)

A-fuckin'-MEN


A fake fortuneteller can be tolerated. But an authentic soothsayer should be shot on sight. Cassandra did not get half the kicking around she deserved.
--Time Enough for Love (1973)

It's one thing to give advice... it's another thing attribute things to fate, and then say "I told you so."


Any priest or shaman must be presumed guilty until proved innocent.
--Time Enough for Love (1973)

The question is, what is being sold, and for how much.


Being intelligent is not a felony. But most societies evaluate it as at least a misdemeanor.
--Time Enough for Love (1973)

Being right too soon is socially unacceptable. Killing the messenger is one of the most common habits of those who "run things".


Certainly the game is rigged. Don't let that stop you; if you don't bet, you can't win.
--Time Enough for Love (1973)

I'm afraid that I'll fail is the battle-cry of born failures. If you're not cheating, you're not trying hard enough.


Everything in excess! To enjoy the flavor of life, take big bites. Moderation is for monks.
--Time Enough for Love (1973)

How does one know how much is enough, unless he has had too much?


Men rarely (if ever) manage to dream up a god superior to themselves. Most gods have the manners and morals of a spoiled child.
--Time enough for Love (1973)

Perhaps what we call "god" is a sort of objective truth, like the physical universe. If this is so, then that explains why nobody really "knows" it. See Liber NV.


The more you love, the more you can love and the more intensely you love. Nor is there any limit on how many you can love. If a person had time enough, he could love all of that majority who are decent and just.
--Time enough for Love (1973)

I can definitely stand behind this one... especially the "decent and just" part.


Do not confuse 'duty' with what other people expect of you; they are utterly different. Duty is a debt you owe to yourself to fulfill obligations you have assumed voluntarily. Paying that debt can entail anything from years of patient work to instant willingness to die. Difficult it may be, but the reward is self-respect.
--Time enough for Love (1973)

...and one must first be able to say "I" before they can say "I love you".


Anyone who considers protocol unimportant has never dealt with a cat.
--Attributed

Cat people make the best lovers. Dog people... are dog people for a reason.


Belief gets in the way of learning.
--Attributed

Nothing is harder than emptying your cup for it to be filled once again. Nothing.


But I will accept and rules that you feel necessary to your freedom. I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do.
--Attributed

Remember the 11th commandment.


Goodness without wisdom always accomplished evil.
--Attributed

There was a time when I assumed that I was a rational being... I miss that time.

If you comment...

1. I'll respond with something random I like about you.
2. I'll tell you what song/movie reminds me of you.
3. I'll name something we should do together.
4. I'll say something that only makes sense to you and me (or just me).
5. I'll tell you my first/clearest memory of you.
6. I'll leave you a quote that is somehow appropriate to you.
7. I'll ask you something that I've always wondered about you.
8. If I do this for you, you must post this on your journal so you can do the same for other people

Liz: I WANT A CHEEZEBURGER!
Bart: But what about the little cows with their sad eyes...?
Liz: (interrupting) SHUT UP! And I'm paying!
Bart: Like hell you are, it's my turn. Why would you pay?
Liz: BECAUSE! I'm PMS-ing!
Bart: (silence)
Bart: I'm putting this conversation in my LJ.
Liz: LJ?
Bart: Yeah, my Livejournal.
Liz: Oh, I thought you meant Long-John the Goat.
Bart: (more silence) ??!!??!!?

Above, the gemmed azure is
The naked splendour of Nuit;
She bends in ecstasy to kiss
The secret ardours of Hadit.
The winged globe, the starry blue,
Are mine, O Ankh-af-na-khonsu!


Happy Liber Al(L) Day.

A'ayan, The EYE. Eye am I... that Eye am naught.

I abandoned and forgot myself,
laying my face on my Beloved;
all things ceased; I went out from myself,
leaving my cares
forgotten among the lilies.

--St. John of the Cross, The Dark Night of the Soul


Love is the law.

You scored as True Alternative. You are a True Alternative! Labels do not suit you well, particularly as you tend to strike your own path and to grow purely via experience. No armchair quarterbacking for you! Originality and creation are your specialities, and sometimes you can even articulate what the hell just happened. Someday you may find yourself drawing the maps for other people... lots of other people. </td> True Alternative 75% Discordian 75% Spiritualist 65% Magician 65% Mystic 60% Otherkin 60% Aimless Eclectic 45% White Lighter 40% What Subversive Alternative Paradigm Are You? created with QuizFarm.com

More poasts to follow.

Now THIS is what I'm talking about! Why don't more people have the balls to publically argue this sort of thing?

MEME

Describe me in one word - just one.
Comment to me, then post this entry to your Live Journal and see how many strange things people think about you.

Eye halve a spelling chequer,
It came with my pea sea,
It plainly marques four my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.

Eye strike a key and type a word
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write
It shows me strait a weigh.

As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite
Its rarely ever wrong.

Eye have run this poem threw it
I'm shore your pleased two no
Its letter perfect in it's weigh,
My chequer tolled me sew.